Blood Red Pretear
by Tiryn
Summary: Casandra Noama has a very abusive live, yet she makes the most of it. What happens if she meets people that have strange powers and keep calling her and Himeno 'the pretears? She is about to embark on an adventure that could possibly change her life!a
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Pretear or anything that is recognizable in this story. I will hunt you down and possibly destroy you, but all you do is to send some good reviews and you won't be destroyed... for now:}

In this version of Pretear,it's going to be based on the manga. Just to give you a heads up.

So enjoy! ^^

* * *

I hated my abusive life, but I still love my family no matter how much they abused me. They gave me a life so I can enjoy life, no matter how bad it is. That's what I learned in life.

Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. My name is Casandra Noama. Strange name, I know, but it means (Me-This is what I think it means. If you know the real definition of Casandra Noama, Please message me. Thanks!) Beautiful Bloody Sea. I love it and no one is going to change that.

Well, since you're going to actually be paying attention to me, I'm a mute to anyone who doesn't know me [unless you're Himeno and Mawata, I talk to them], seventeen years old, goes to Awayuki Middle School and is abused by both of my adoptive parents. I never liked dresses much, or skirts for that matter, so I always wear pants and the boys school uniform whenever I go to school. So, pretty much everyone, except for two people, hates me for being different.

Well, they need to get over there big fat egos and start looking at how they act towards others and see if they actually like you for who they are.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm just in this world to enjoy life and die a peaceful death. Hopefully, that's what I was meant to do anyway. I don't want to die from some stupid fight or something.

Oh great! There I go again! I should really stop rambling or else people would think that I was crazy or that I'm going to be in some stupid accident just 'cause I was in deep thinking. Trust me, I've almost been in three accidents and fell in three ditches per day in one week, with seven scratches to add to all of the scars that I have from being abused so much.

ANYWAY, I'm outside the Awayuki Mansion [which is fuckin' HUGE] waiting for Himeno so we can go to school together. While I was waiting, Mawata and Mayune, Himeno's step sisters, walked past me towards the huge stretch limo that Tanaka, the family butler with a hairless head, waits for them. Mawata waves high to me as she gets in the car and leaves Himeno behind, yet again.

I wave back and signal to her that I will call her later. She just smiles at me sadly and turns to face the front. You see, she and Himeno are the only ones that know about my life with my adoptive parents and they are still my friends, so I'm really happy about that.

Oh, I should tell you about Himeno's family before you get anymore confused. Himeno Awayuki is the daughter of Kaoru Awayuki, a famous romance novelist. They were very poor before Kaoru met Natsue, president of a major cosmetics company and a big fan of Kaoru's novels. She also owns the entire island of Awayuki island. So she's very rich and they fell madly in love at first site. I really don't want to even know how, so don't ask me for that tib-bit of information. Natsue Awayuki had two daughters; Mawata, a second year student in middle school, and Mayune, a freshman along with me and Himeno in middle school. I'm very sure that Himeno has no idea on what to do since she's living the rich live now. I kinda feel sorry for her. Then I suddenly saw Himeno run towards the stretch limo yelling "Wait for me guys!"

After a few seconds, she looked so destroyed that she was left behind. I was starting to get the strangest thoughts then, like they were surrounded in darkness, anger, and, most of all, hatred.

_'She wanted to take the limo instead of walking with you to school, didn't she? Why don't you just leave her there, let her see how it feels._' A voice darkened with hatred and laced with menace into my mind; a voice I didn't recognized. I shook it off as soon as I heard the last word it mentally said. I never heard anything like it, and I didn't like it one bit. And whenever I don't know or like something, I either get really mad or, in this case, scared. It's just something I developed while I lived with my 'parents'.

After a few seconds, Himeno spotted me thinking by myself in front of the gate and walked towards me, wondering what the hell I was doing. when she was close enough that her shadow was blocking my sun, I looked up and completely freaked out... well, almost completely, but it was close enough.

* * *

**Himeno's POV**

I am so going to be late if I don't catch that limo. Once I got outside, I yelled, "Wait for me guys!" Once I saw that they had already gone, I was so destroyed that they left me, again, might I add! But then I spotted my best friend, Casandra Noama, standing next to the gate looking very troubled. I walked towards her and once she noticed me standing over her, she freaked out. And by freaked out, she passed out for a few minutes. Yeah, that's not like the ultimate freak out from her. But trust me, when she is in full freak out mode, she is one mean little bitch.

She must have heard of something that she didn't either like or was afraid of. Very unlikely the latter, since she's barely afraid of anything. Something she's developed since she had been living with her 'parents'. Yeah, I know about that type of crap. Just something that isn't right in this world. I shook my head then slightly shook her to wake her up. She shot up with a blush covering her cheeks a second later. She looked at me with a... scared look? Since when has she been scared?

"Sorry..." I heard Casandra say as she scratched the back of her head and got up. She cleaned off some imaginary dust on her school pants. I sighed.

"When are you going to wear the girl's school uniform, Casandra?" I asked as we walked through a little path that I spotted a couple of days ago. Casandra was still limping from her injuries from last night, so I had to help her walk toward the school.

She gave me a 'are you serious?' look. Then she just started laughing. She doesn't laugh often, so her melodic laugh rang throughout the little garden we were going through. It was really rare for anybody to hear Casandra laugh, so I laughed along with her. But as we were laughing, we both accidentally stepped on daises that we weren't aware of until we stepped on them. We both developed really sad faces and knelt beside the flowers.

"What's wrong?" A little blond boy was standing at least a couple feet away from us. He looked really cute.

**End of POV**

* * *

"We stepped on these flowers, and we want to save them..." I trailed off in concern. Himeno nodded in agreement and sadness.

"Give me your hands." The kid held out his hands for us to take.

"Our hands?" Himeno asked, possibly strucked to as why the kid would ask us something like that. If she was wondering that, I am wondering the same exact thing as well.

"That's right, your hands." The kid smiled a kind and understanding smile as he still held his hands out to us. Himeno and I each slowly grabbed hold of the little kids hands. We were all suddenly pulled into the air as a bright green light surrounded us all. I was confused and when I looked over to see Himeno's reaction, she looked as surprised as I felt. When I looked to see what was going on around us, Himeno and I saw that, before our very eyes, a bud of the daises were going through the cycle of regenerating.

It was a wondrous site, both weird and beautiful at the same time. We then felt faint and slowly fainted, side by side.

* * *

"-sandra,-meno." A sweet voice called out in my consciousness. "Casandra, Himeno." A woman stood a few feet away from us [Himeno and I], calling out to us as if she knew us our whole lives. Then I noticed why she looked familiar; it was Himeno's mother. I knew her before she died, and when ever I was there with Himeno, her and Kaoru would look at me with such sadness it was as if I went through some tragic accident and was lost away from them. The sadness in their eyes always made me sad, yet happy that I was with them for some strange reason. Now that same weird feeling swept through me, strange and welcoming at the same time.

"Your hand is cold, Mama. Why Mama? Why?" I hugged Himeno while we both gazed on the now lifeless body of Himeno's mother. I cried as hard as Himeno was crying, as if she was also my own mother. In a way, she was.

* * *

When we next woke up, some strange man was above Himeno. He had long black hair held in a low pony tail. From what I could see, his eyes were the color of the sky. And his outfit was too strange to describe. Himeno was outrageously red. I slowly got up and limped over to her. Murder was written on my face, I knew.

"You're awake, huh?" He asked Himeno. "You were having some terrible nightmares. Are you alright?" Himeno was completely silent as she sat up. I was still trying to limp over to her. He put his hand to her forehead and asked "Your face is red, do you have a fever, too?" Himeno was still bright red.

"FWA!" She yelled out. _'Fwa?_' I thought. I then heard footsteps and heard a deep rich voice ask "Oh no- Hayate's already making his move." I looked toward the door of the room and saw a pale man with albino hair knocking once on the open door. His outfit was also strange, yet it suited him for a strange reason. It was like that strange man that is still hovering over Himeno.

"Seems like I'm interrupting..." He said teasingly.

"Sasame!" The man in blue yelled at the guy in white. "Who's making a move?" Hayate, I'm assuming that was the man in blue, yelling at who is now Sasame.

"You're not? How boring." Sasame replied.

Another man, this one with sun bright yellow hair, walked in with another weird outfit. I blushed at the first site of him. "Oh, are they awake?" He asked looking over Sasame's shoulder.

"Are they alright?" The blond little boy from earlier asked. He looked like he had been crying. Is everyone here wearing strange outfits except for Himeno and I?

A boy with orange hair popped up beside the blond boy. "They seem fine!" He happily exclaimed.

Two more guys appeared; one was older than the other. The older one had black hair that defied gravity with a red and black outfit and the young one had albino hair that also defied gravity and was wearing a white outfit. "No, the color of this one's face is still bad, she'd better warm up." The older pointed to Himeno.

"Naah! It's better that her head cools down." The younger one said. I was there by now and sat by Himeno.

"Excuse me-" Himeno started. "I suddenly felt dizzy...?" She held her head in one hand. I hugged her close to comfort. She took it willingly.

The young blond boy started crying river falls. "I'm sorry, that was my fault." He looked to adorable to ignore, so I picked him up and put him in my lap and gave him comforting pats on the back, despite the protests of pain from my legs and arms. I didn't pay attention to what the other men said, I was too busy trying to calm down Himeno and the little boy at the same time. It's what I do, although I don't give words of comfort at all. People just seem to understand what I'm trying to calm them down. I set down the little boy once I was done calming him down and looked at Himeno. She was starting to get anxious, so I just hugged her the best I could in my retched state.

The older albino boy came over and asked "What's the matter?" I glared at him as Himeno replied "I don't quite understand, but..." I was also confused on what was going on, so I paid close attention to what he has to say.

"You were chosen as the 'Pretear', though there seems to be two pretears this time.

"Pre-?" Himeno was greatly confused. "What?"

The young man continued. "Right now crisis draws into this world."

"...Huh?" Himeno wasn't getting any of this and neither was I.

"Red snow is falling?" I asked. Himeno stared at me in astonishment, but shook it off soon after.

"That's the action of 'Saihi'. 'Saihi' is stealing 'leife'-the existence of everything and the origin of power."

'_These...'_ I thought.

"The only thing that can stop it is the 'pretear'!" He veered over Himeno as I thought, '_These people are...'_

"So try your best and let's fight together." The man said with enthusiasm as he placed a hand on both of our shoulders.

_'...part of a cult*...' _I thought. Apparently Himeno was thinking the same thing, since she was probably driving herself insane inside her head. I then heard the worst thing that has left a guy's mouth from the guy that was hovering over Himeno earlier.

"You really think we could leave it to a tulip-head and fire-head little girls like them!" He motioned towards us.

Himeno turned around and yelled, "... Who... Who is he calling little girls?"

He simply replied "You."

"It's not 'you', it's Himeno and Casandra! Besides, your pride is just because of your good looks!"

The guy just laughed at us from under his breath. "Just good looks, huh?" He said with a cocky smile on his face. Next second, Himeno and I both punched his lights out with a single punch. He fell to the ground totally out. The guy that was explaining the pretear thing earlier looked extremely happy and said "They took him out with one blow!"

"We're going home!" Himeno yelled as we walked toward the only door in the room. We slammed it shut behind us and we continued to walk home after that.

* * *

_**Third POV With Strange Boys**_

"Ah, you made them mad." Sasame stated toward Hayate as he looked toward the door that the woman just exited out of.

Hayate rubbed both of his sore cheeks as he got up from the ground. "I don't believe it- brutal women." He muttered.

"You really don't have a way with girls, you know-" Sasame teasingly said, but he was cut off from Hayate.

"Shut up." Hayate muttered as he glared at his albino friend.

Kei, the sun blond one, said "For the time being, let's look at the situation since there's no changing the fact that we need the pretear, now pretears."

The little ice blue haired kid said, "Hey, with that being said... is it okay to let them go like that? They said that they were going home, but, I think it's impossible." The boy stated simply pointing out of the only window in the room.

_**End of POV**_

* * *

Himeno and I were in a land that we have never seen before. It's like we were taken to another dimension when we passed out. It was very beautiful though.

"Where... are we?" Himeno asked, looking around wildly. "How do we get out of here?" We then saw a large tree behind us. It was in the middle of a lake and it was connected to the land by a single bridge that zigzagged toward the entrance. Himeno then started talking to herself. "It's not like I can ask how to get home... Ah! I forgot my bag and blazer- what'll I do..."

We then heard a voice say behind us, "Here, your things." The voice sounded angry and it sounded like the guy that we punched out, just without the cockiness.

"Ah, thanks..." Himeno turned around and saw that it was the guy that we punched earlier. "**You-!**" He didn't look too happy to see us either. She then took some weird stance that she probably learned in martial arts. "What's your problem?" She asked defiantly.

"You're my problem." We then noticed that he had the little blond kid hiding behind the guy's leg.

"You..." was all Himeno managed to say.

"Miss, are you both alright?" The kid started. "Are you still angry?" He looked like he was on the verge of tears. Then I did something that I haven't done in years; I hugged him and hummed the tune that I remember my real mother used to play on the piano.

* * *

_**Hayate's POV**_

I had to give tulip-head her stuff back and I had to take the little shrimp with me. Can my day get any worse? So I took the stuff that she had and walked outside toward the two girls standing in front of our house. Tulip-head was muttering something to herself while the redhead was looking at everything in amazement and wonder at our world. When I got up close, I said "Here, your stuff." The red head's ear twitched slightly at the sound of my voice, so I'm assuming that she's trying to analyze my voice in her head.

"Ah, thanks..." Tulip-head started saying as she turned around to see who had brought her stuff back to her. She quickly backed away and said "**You-!**" once she saw me. She then did some weird pose and asked me what my problem was. I told her that she was my problem and I settled my free hand on the top of the shrimp's head. He was still hiding behind one of my legs. I noticed that the redhead's gaze greatly softened when her eyes landed on him.

_'What kind of effect does this kid have on the redhead?' _I wondered while the shrimp asked tulip-head if she was still angry. Then the unexpected happened; the redhead hugged the little shrimp close and hummed a little tune that was somehow familiar to me, but I couldn't place it anywhere. I was then filled with happiness and a lot of energy the more I listened to the creepingly familiar song. The little shrimp calmed down and stopped looking like he was on the verge of tears.

Then tulip-head said something that really caught my attention, "Yeah, we're fine. We're feeling better already, so we're not angry at you." Tulip-head gave him an extremely sweet smile that she probably uses a lot. I smiled a tiny little smile, the first since...

I then turned around and said "...Let's go." She did that weird karate pose from earlier.

"G-go where?" She asked me warriely.

"To send you to the 'outside'." I replied like it was the most obvious thing to do.

"Huh?" The girl was confused. I turned toward the opposite way to our house.

"You go straight ahead... and then take the road to the left." I pointed to a small trail in between a few trees. Tulip-head had her blazer and bag with her and the redhead was carrying the little shrimp with her.

"Well then, I..." Tulip-head was cut off by the little shrimp.

"Miss..." He started. "Bye bye, see you later!" The redhead set him down, took something off of her neck, and put it on the little shrimp. She then gave him a little peck on the forehead as a gesture of farewell.

"Later." I said uncaringly.

Tulip-head turned and started walking down the path that I have indicated. She waved her hand and said, "Okay, bye bye."

The redhead whispered something into the ear of the shrimp and when she pulled away, she put her pointer finger on the top of the mouth in a 'shush' way. She then ran towards Tulip-head and waving back towards the little shrimp. The little shrimp waved back until they were out of site.

Once they were out of site, I asked the little shrimp, "So what did the redhead tell you?" But he just shook his head and replied "I promised I wouldn't tell until the time was right. That's what she told me to do." The little kid dreamily said.

"Alright then, what did she give you?" I asked, curiosity eating me raw. He showed me a golden box with a little silver box at the end.

"She gave it me. It was really pretty and she said to not tell anyone what it is or what it does. I have promised that I wouldn't tell anyone what she said." He gazed off into space, probably thinking about the redhead. Shin just probably saw her as a mother and friend.

Boy was I right.

_**End of POV

* * *

**_"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!" Our friend, Yayoi, bursted out laughing when Himeno was finished telling her about what happened to us earlier. She told us that we were probably daydreaming or something. That got me thinking.

'_Was that place, those people, a dream? Even...'_ A picture of the sun colored hair guy came into my mind and so did the little kid. I blushed and smiled when both people popped into my mind. It's kinda hard to daydream about those kinds of things, so it couldn't have been that.

"Oh yeah, Himeno, Casandra. You free tomorrow?" Yayoi asked us. I just shrugged as my answer. I probably wasn't, so I should give her a maybe answer to be safe.

"Yeah." Himeno answered automatically.

"Well then, wanna go shopping? We can go to the new store at the Shinyamate Station." Yayoi said to Himeno.

"Let's go, let's go!" Himeno said excitedly. We were all at the cross road where Yayoi separated from us.

"Well then, meet you at 11 in the plaza in front of the station!" We waved bye as we all walked to our homes.

"Hey Himeno?" I asked once I was sure that Yayoi was out of hearing range.

"What is it, Casandra?" She asked back.

"Can you walk me home and help me check something?"

"Yeah, sure." Himeno smiled softly at me and we walked in the opposite direction of Himeno's mansion to go to my two-story house that I currently lived in. It was an eggshell white color, so it wasn't very flashy. I cautiously walked up the steps towards the front door and saw a note attached with my name on it. I snatched it off and this was what I read:

**Casandra**

**We will be gone on a trip for the rest of the year. Do not destroy anything and we want the house spotless when we get back! Make sure that the house stays clean and refrigerator full. Money is on the table if you need anything. If you don't want to stay at the house, at least visit everyday and keep it clean.**

**Love**

**Your Family and Maids**

I smiled and quickly ushered Himeno in once I unlocked the door. I gave Himeno the note and went upstairs to grab the stuff that I would need; including my school stuff, guitar, and the remaining picture of Himeno and I when we were little. I stare at it for a while and smile. I stuff it into my suitcase and run back downstairs. I grabbed the cash and keys and we were off to the mansion of Himeno's. Himeno smiled and we ran all the way back to her mansion.

Once we got to the mansion, one of the butlers, Jhon, greeted us. "Good day Himeno, Casandra. How long are you staying with us this time, Lady Casandra?" He asked as he took my suitcase upstairs to Himeno's room.

"A good day to you, too, Jhon. I will be staying for the rest of the year apparently." I smiled lightly at me. He smiled back and turned back to Himeno.

"You have visitors, Miss Himeno." He said formally as he led us into the main room.

"Visitors?" Himeno asked. "Who could it be?" Jhon opened the door and there, sitting on the couches, was the weird gang from earlier. Except that they were all in normal clothes. The little boy from earlier saw me and immediately put down his cake and ran toward me. I bent down and hugged him when he jumped into my arms.

"Welcome home!" They all said as they saw us. "Do you live here, miss?" The little kid asked me. I sighed sadly and said "I'm sorry, but I don't live here. I'm only staying here for the rest of the year." He gave me a little pout. I laughed and said "Don't worry, I'll still live around here when I'm not here." I gave him one of my small smiles and he smiled widely at me. "Now go finish your cake. Never put cake to waist, is what I say!" I pushed him toward the table where his cake lay in waiting. He happily ran toward it and ate it. They all said hi and Himeno was yelling why they were there.

"I said later, didn't I?" Hayate said, slamming his hand onto the door he was leaning on.

Himeno looked like she was about to scream her lungs out so I moved and sat beside the little boy from earlier.

'_What is going to happen to us now that we have met these people?' _I thought.

* * *

Tiryn: That was a long chapter... Please R/R! I would really appreciate it ^^


	2. Chapter 2 part 1

I do not own Pretear or anything that is recognizable in this story. I will hunt you down and possibly destroy you, but all you do is to send some good reviews and you won't be destroyed... for now:}

Second Chapter of 'Blood Red Pretear' is up, so enjoy ^^

Cult- typical religious cult, in which the situation that the main characters are in, pretend to support the prejudiced people with typical enthusiasm

* * *

"**WHY ARE YOU GUYS HERE!"** Himeno yelled at the group of men standing in her living room, acting as if this was normal for them. I sat back and watched hell be set loose by Himeno's mouth."I usually know why people come to my house... I didn't tell them where I lived, did I?" She said the last sentence as if she was once again talking to herself.

The man named Sasame smiled and said "I am 'sound'." It made no sense to me. He then rattled off a list of things that he could hear but we couldn't hear. I scoffed, which got his attention. He asked me, "Is something wrong?"

I said "It sounds like you're bragging about what you can do and what we can't. And what are we supposed to call you whenever we see you; 'sound' or 'Sasame'? Trust me, Sasame sounds like a hell-a lot better name than sound is. And we don't even know you! How can we know that we can trust you?" I then added in a lower voice. "Even though I felt like I have met you all before and trust you..." I ended in a sad tone. This catches him completely off guard. The others didn't know what I lastly said, so they don't know why Sasame looks confused at the moment.

I felt a little tug on my jeans and looked down to see the little kid look at me with the saddest eyes that any kid has pulled on me. I smiled and said "Don't worry, little one. I'm not mad at you, I'm just yelling at a person who sounds like he's bragging since I can't yell at Mr. Grumpy over there," I pointed at Hayate, who looked like he would rip off my head at any minute. "Or else his crush would murder me." I gestured over to Himeno, who stormed over to me with lightning as her weapon.

"What do you mean, Casandra?" She said with a very evil tone in her voice. I just smiled at her innocently.

"Just what I said, Himeno. You blush a lot since you met Hayate, so I'm guessing that you already have a crush on him. Although Kei looks cuter than him, why did you choose Hayate as your future groom?" I asked, which made Himeno blush then get out one of her huge pans [I have no idea how she can carry those around without getting caught] and chase me around the room trying to hit me the best she can. Whenever I ran past Kei [his name just popped into my head for some weird reason] he would blush but would always try to hide it. When I ran past Hayate, though, he would also start chasing me around with Himeno at his side. I was just laughing my little copper head off.

After they stopped chasing me, I looked around and saw people either chuckling or a certain leafe night blushing [Kei, of course]. But then I said, "So why is the plants failing to grow, or people to feel the same after the snow? It's completely confusing to me..."

Kei then said "It is the red snow's fault." Everyone turned toward him as he spoke further. "All of the things that have power, such as air, water, animals as well as plants, red snow falls on them and steals their leafe."

"But right now I'm not even able to save the plants..." Shin said. Wait, how do I know his name? I decided to dwell on that later, for Shin started to speak again. "Look Himeno..." He held his hands up and a green light started to slowly light in his hands. Me, acting on an impulse and was in a trance, also held out my hands as a similar, but darker, green light slowly formed in my hands. "My name is 'Shin' and I control plants." As his light faded, so did my darker one, but it stayed.

The boy with orange was the next to speak. "My name's Hajime and I control water." A crystal-clear water circle formed around Hajime's feet. The same to me, but it was like a black water that formed. The water that was around Hajime flowed toward the plant that I was now keeping up.

Kei held one of his arms up and a ball of brilliant light formed. I did the same, just in that same trance that I was still in. The light I created was blood red, close to black. "I'm Kei, and I'm light." His light flowed into the plant and water, as was mine. The tall plant turned into a beautiful black rose. Everyone gasped at the 'horrid' site but I seemed to walk toward it with my red light. I knew, somehow, that if I held my own light towards the rose, it would turn red. And that was exactly what happened. Kei was looking at me with a very thoughtful expression on his face.

We were then outside creating the site of different colored roses. I knew all there meanings, so I knew I had to create the black rose, a statement of very deep feelings for the person you give to, at least once. So I took all the elements, plants, water, and light, and created a tall plant in the middle of the pool that bloomed into a black rose. The rest on the stem were a pretty cherry red, a sign of true love, and bright yellow, a sign of true friendship. They all looked at me with astonishment and fear.

I could suddenly hear the thoughts of Himeno carried into my mind. '_...Is this magic?' _No it is not, Himeno. '_...Is this a miracle?'_ I smiled a sad, little smile at this question. It is up to the person who has asked to answer that question. Shin then started to faint, but Goh, the one with black hair that defies gravity [how the hell do I know this? Oh, yeah, I DON'T!] catch Shin before he could face plant onto the concrete floor.

"Hey, Shin..." He said with worry.

"I'm okay." Shin replied with a little worry in his voice. I moved carefully over to him and picked him carefully as a mother would do to comfort a child. He fell asleep on my shoulder, for which it was easier to watch him and hold onto him at the same time.

"Himeno," Hayate said as he appeared next to Himeno with the help of his element, wind. I still wonder as to why I know all this stuff except that it just keeps appearing in my head. "We are the Leafe Knights, those who protect Leafe. It is our job." His mystery no doubt astounds and confuses Himeno, so I step to try to explain things to her. I gave Shin to Go as I somehow knew what to say.

My voice was not my own, I knew, but I still had to explain things to Himeno. "The red snow is a sign that Saihi has appeared... but it's still only a sign. If Saihi continues to devour Leife... everything will meet eternal death. Not just living things, the world will even be without moving air, the tempature you feel, light, or sound." I then blinked a couple of times and Hayate finally asked the question that he needed to ask both Himeno and I.

"**Will you be able to fight Saihi alongside us!" **Hayate said with defiance in his voice. Himeno seemed to be scared and confused, but it only took me a second to make me a choice.

"I will fight alongside you." I said. "There is nothing in this world that I believe deserves to die, so I shall fight alongside you to defend all that need to live and let the circle of life continue." Himeno stared at me in astonishment as I walked toward the men that are strangers to her, but friends to me. Hayate continued his question and pointed it directly toward Himeno.

"And become the 'Preater'?" I nodded my head as Himeno just mumbled "F- fight?"

"That's right. To save the world."

'_Even though I know this is all a lie...'_ I can't believe Himeno thought they were lying and I trusted them. She must be too scared to know what she's seeing. '_Why is it all so frightening?'_

"Because it is real, Himeno." She looked at me with a weird look. "This is all very real to us, even though most of us can't sense it until it is in front of us. You feel fear because you do not know a logical reason to this. There isn't one."

* * *

**Himeno's POV**

This wasn't the Casandra that I knew for my entire life. It was like she finally found her purpose and she sees it is with these people. I still think this is a cult, that does weird magic, that is. Question is, is it even magic at all? She continued her speech.

"It is okay if you do not understand what I'm am saying little one."

"Casandra, is that you?" I asked tentatively.

She laughed and I didn't hear any musical notes in the laughter. This wasn't Casandra. "No, but you shall hear me a lot. I am her pure side, so I shall show up a lot. Do not worry, your Casandra is safe." She then laughed again. Her laugh was scaring the others a bit, but I still wanted to know if this Casandra was telling the truth. "Of course I'm telling the truth, my dear. It's just hard to believe now." She then closed her eyes and fell backwards into the arms of the guy that had black spiky hair that defied gravity.

Suddenly, the guy that was named Hayate looked pissed and snapped his fingers. I felt a gust of wind and found myself lifted off the ground high above the cult. I was struggling to get down and yelling at Hayate.

"Hey cut it out, poor thing." One of the guys said. I think he called himself Sasame, right?

"Hmph." Hayate is being stubborn! I'm going to murder him when I get my hands on him!

* * *

He finally let me down! I now have a bruise and it hurts because of him! I just glared at him to try and get some of my anger out. I lowly growled at him with all I had.

"That probably made you believe our story a little, didn't it?" Hayate smugly asked. He still had a cold demeanor, so it felt pretty good to still glare at him and vent a bit. He glared back at me.

A man with black spiked up hair and a kid with white spiked up hair came up behind me. The man spoke up first. "That surprised you, huh?" He said with a worried look on his face.

Then the kid spoke. "Sorry 'bout that. Hayate just doesn't have any patience." You got that right, kid.

Suddenly, a teapot came out of no where and the man with brown hair began to heat it up with his bare hands! "I'm Gou (THIS IS HOW IT IS SPELLED IN THE MANGA! I'm not going to misspell it, so buzz off!) I control heat." Then the boy with white hair had a cup of tea in his hand and little snowflakes started appearing around the hand that was hovering over the cup.

"And I'm Mannen! I control the cold." They then both presented me their cups of beverages.

"HERE!" They both said in harmony. I was still thoroughly confused.

* * *

**Sorry I couldn't get this out sooner! I was a bit busy doing some things around the house and I noticed that chapter two of the manga was a little long, so the next chapter is part two. Can't wait to update! Sorry again for not updating soon enough! Have fun in the sun this summer ^-^**


	3. Chapter 2 Part 2

I do not own Pretear or anything that is recognizable in this story. I will hunt you down and possibly destroy you, but all you do is to send some good reviews and you won't be destroyed... for now:}

Third chappy! This is part two of chapter two so enjoy ^^

* * *

**_Himeno's POV_**

Mannen and Gou had a glaring contest while Hayate said "We have no business... Let's go." He was heading toward the door when Kei stopped him by yelling "Hayate! What are you saying!"

"It's not like these two naive girls can do it by volunteering..." What he said next made me seriously doubt myself and Casandra. Sending a cold look at us, he said "It's impossible for them." He then left with Kei yelling at him "Hayate! Wait just a minute!"

"Kei..." Sasame laid a hand on Kei's shoulder and Kei turned toward him in surprise.

"Sasame! You don't agree with him, do you?" He said in exasperation.

"It's not that, but right now anything we say to Hayate is pointless." Sasame looked toward me and the unconscious Casandra. "Besides, Himeno is also confused. Today was agreeable until now." Kei calmed down a bit at the sight of both girls.

"I guess you're right... However... The catastrophe won't wait for us." Kei kept gazing at Casandra with a forlorn expression.

**_End of POV_**

* * *

I woke up in time to see that the Leife Knights were leaving and Himeno's sisters were coming home. Mayune seemed to be ogling at all of the older guys, which I rolled my eyes at. Sasame stopped at the door before speaking to us.

"Himeno, Casandra... That's the only kind of way that Hayate can talk, but... I want you to understand that it's just his earnestness. Right now- there are no other 'pretears' except for you two." He looked us both in the eyes before saying "We need you." He then left with the others, leaving Himeno a bit dazed and me understanding... somewhat.

"You had guests, I see." Mayune said, looking like she wanted to hurt us both. "How do you know them?" That was something that I knew was coming, so I let Himeno answer in her own way.

"Know them?" Himeno still seemed to be in a bit of a dazed. "It's a secret." She walked out to the garden, still in daze. I followed her and it looked like she was thinking things over; everything that was said, all that seemed to be held in her head. Then she looked toward the sky and shakily said "What... should I do?"

I laid a hand on her shoulder and said "What does your heart say, Himeno?" We both looked toward the sky then went back inside, waiting to see what the world would throw at us next.

* * *

We both woke up the next day. Himeno seemed to still be a bit shaken from yesterday, so we quickly got dressed and ready to go shopping with Yayoi. Himeno said "I couldn't sleep, and it's already 9 o'clock!" Himeno was wearing a sundress with an over-the-shoulder handbag and a half-jacket. When we came out of her room, Natsue, Himeno's stepmother, was out in the hallway looking like her usual grand self.

"Himeno, Casandra, are you going out?" She asked us with a semi-glare on her face.

"Ah-yes. We're going shopping with our friend." Himeno respectfully told her. This is going to be interesting.

"Mayune told me..." Oh boy, this really is going to be interesting. "That yesterday you had some friends over. What is your relation with them?" Sometimes, Mayune really needs to shut her mouth and mind her business.

Himeno didn't know what to say at first, then she started to make up a story right on the dot. I'm actually pretty amazed that Himeno can do that without Mayune saying that she was lying. "Well, it was the neighbors from our last house. It seems like they came to see what this one looked like..." Himeno said a bit nervously.

Then Natsue said, "Himeno, since you have become a part of this house, you should possess some self-conscious in your conduct and your associates." My god, that was close.

"Yes mam." We both said, even though I wasn't included in the conversation. I honestly just wanted to get out of there and into the nice, cool breeze of summer, then maybe we could both forget what happened yesterday and hope it is a dream. Then again, nothing is ever that simple.

"Who are you going out with today?" Natsue asked us both.

"A classmate of mine," Himeno replied. "Yayoi Takato. She's been my friend since middle school."

"Okay." Natuse replied. "So long as you're back by five."

"Huh?" Himeno's face was one of confusion.

"Since it's a special Saturday, we have dinner reservations and will be going out as a family." I smiled. Himeno should be glad that they're making some kind of effort to be a family.

"Okay, gotta go!" We then walked out of the doors and onto the square. We were soon in front of the subway train station entrance, waiting for Yayoi to show up. I liked her; she was kind and good, despite the fact that she was an obsessed romance girl. I shook my head, thinking of the one time she tried to imagine me with someone. It kind of ended in disastor.

Suddenly, people started to drop out of nowhere. I felt panicked, worried that somehow Yayoi was effected. I had a suspicous feeling that it was whatever the guys were talking about earlier. As Himeno and I ran to Yayoi, I started to feel faint. It was like my energy was being sucked right out of me!

I almost collapsed when I felt strong arms catch me. I looked down and saw dark colored skin. '_Kei.'_ I thought. He helped me up, somehow giving me my energy back. He held me up as I whispered, "Thank you." to him. He nodded and we all turned in time to see Himeno hanging off of Hayate. I snickered to myself. Oh, this is so going in the blackmail file I have for her. I took a quick picture and hid it away quickly before Himeno saw it.

Himeno then punched Hayate screaming out something that sounded like a droned on 'no'.

"Get out of here." Hayate then said. I looked toward him in shock.

"Huh?" Himeno and I said in confusion.

"Saihi's 'seed' has begun to activate." Hayate gave a cold look back to Himeno and I.

"Stay here and you'll be in danger." Sasame said with a small, sad smile on his face.

"Are you guys..." Himeno trailed off.

"I told you, didn't I?" Hayate snapped. "Protecting leife is our job. That's the purpose of our existence."

I growled. No way in hell are they going to keep me out of a fight. "Wait!" Himeno and I said at the same time. "Tell us, what do we do?" Hayate looked shocked that we, more specifically, Himeno, wanted to fight. In all honesty, no matter how much shit I have to go threw just to survive and see Himeno's smiling faces, I wouldn't care about how many more scars that I would obtain.

I wouldn't care, at all.

* * *

_**Okay, sorry it took a long time to update! Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it! Shoutouts!**_

_**Okay, people, please review!**_


	4. Chapter 3

So sorry that i haven't updated in forever! Maybe you guys will like this chapter and I'll be forgiven? *dodges fruit* Thought not, but enjoy anyways!

I do not, in any way, shape, or form, own Pretear, no matter how awesome it would be if I did...

* * *

**_Blood Red Pretear_**

**_Chapter 3  
_**

Hajime and Goh seemed to be happy that Himeno finally decided to join the cause. I looked over at Yayoi, knowing that she was the reason why Himeno finally decided to fight alongside us all, but I think that it was a bit more of a personal level than that...

"Should you save your friend?" Hayate's question brought me out of my reverie. I looked up, facing what looked like an angry Hayate and a shocked Himeno.

"What..." I could feel the confusion buried deep in her now. I glared at Hayate, wrapping an arm around Himeno.

"You don't understand anything." He went on to say. "Saving your friend because she's in danger isn't just your problem." There was something deeper to this than Hayate is letting on. "Can we really trust the pretear to someone who says those kinds of selfish things?" I was shaking, but I held myself back. I didn't want to cause another fight when we should be focused on trying to get this thing out of here.

"What's wrong with doing it for my friend!" I felt proud of Himeno now. I seemed to be rubbing off on her a bit. "I've lived peacefully as an ordinary high school girl; I didn't even understand what you said this 'Saihi' was! But... what about my friend dying before my eyes? Not just Yayoi, but also the people, trees, and birds in the street. I don't know if I can do anything... I might fail... But still, if there's a possibility, I'll become a Pretear." I could see the determination shining in her bright eyes, making me think, for one moment, of the way her energetic mother would get about her plants. Looking around, I could see that everyone, minus Hayate, was happy that Himeno was determined to see things through.

"But.."

"Why do boys talk so slow?" Himeno, I love you, but tone down the peppiness please. "You need me right?"

Sasame chuckled. "Hayate's defeat..." I'm confused now.

"De-defeat!" Hayate said, probably as confused as I was and somewhat... blushing? What is this world coming to? Sasame put a hand on his shoulder, firmly saying, "Just decide what to do from here and stop acting like a child."

"It's too risky!"

"To fight with more than one pretear is better than fighting with nothing or just one pretear." Kei said, putting his own two cents in.

"No objections here!" Mannen held up his hand like a little kid in school when saying so. Hayate seemed to hesitate, but finally gave in to his friends. Kei smiled and started to bring a plan together. "First, we'll use Sasame's 'sound' to investigate-"

"No," Hayate interrupted. "I'll do it. We have to see whether or not you're fit as the pretear. I want to see it for myself." What the hell am I, chopped liver? Sure, Himeno rejected in the beginning, but I wanted to help as well! Hayate then held out his right hand to Himeno. "Himeno, take my hand." With determination shining in her eyes, Himeno took his hand, which seemed to create a whirlwind that seemed to surround them.

I watched in amazement as Hayate disappeared, seemingly into the wind as the wind itself started to form this weird blue dress on Himeno and a pretty tiara on her pinkish head. She looked down at herself, amazed. "This is... the pretear?" Himeno seemed to pause, as if listening to someone talk to her. "Command the wind... Uh, Hayate, I wonder if this is the energy's fault? Because it seems as if you're voice is coming from inside my head."

"Who will you preate with, Cassandra?" I turned to see the other Knights looking at me patiently. I hesitated, suspecting that if I 'preated' with them, they would know every scar on my body, but not how I got them. Is it really worth the risk? "And you might want to hurry," I looked up at Goh to see him looking at something behind me. "The egg is hatching." Then he and Mannen made some ice and fire come out of their hands and blast it towards their enemies, effectively blasting away whatever was going to harm us.

Looking around at the people on the ground, I thought, '_It's going to be worth_ _it.' _

"Kei!" I called. He turned to me with some surprise flashing through his eyes. "Hurry, before more people get hurt!" He nodded and reached his hand out to me. As soon as our hands touched, a bright light engulfed my vision, making me close my eyes tight as a reflex. As soon as I opened them, I could see that there was a somewhat translucent Kei in front of me, smiling at me in encouragement before moving forward towards me and fading into me.

I closed my eyes, embracing the warm sensation that ran throughout my body. We were becoming one... The sensation stopped, but it felt like there was something still there, surging every now and then. Finally looking down, I could see that I had what looked like a pair of hakama pants that were white with gold designs on the bottom. My shirt consisted of a white tube-top with a leather jacket that had little suns on them. My feet were dressed in white socks and had bamboo sandals on them. Lifting up my hands, I could see that I also had white biker gloves with golden suns on them. Something cold rubbed against my neck, which led to my discovery of my golden chain necklace that had a golden sun as an ornament.

"Kei?" I called out, not seeing him anywhere. "Where are you?"

"Inside of you." Was his reply. I raised an eyebrow, and just accepted it. "Okay, this is how it works; you have to use me and my element, light, to be both a weapon and a shield. The kind of weapon you make is all up to you, and-" Then he stopped, signaling that he heard something that I didn't. Or saw...

"Himeno!" I heard Hajime call out Himeno's name, which caused my head to turn over to Himeno's frozen body. She held up her arms in defense as a wind shield protected her. She slowly opened her eyes and tried to lift herself up using the wind. It was actually pretty funny to watch.

"Concentrate, Cassandra." I snapped back into the fight to see a tentacle flying towards me. I dodged to the left, successfully not getting hit. "Hurry, summon a weapon." I nodded and tried concentrating the light into a sword. I closed my eyes, hoping that visualization would work with me. I felt something form in my hands, making me open my eyes to see a long sword made of light. "Good job, Cassandra." I felt proud that he thought it was a good job. "Now to put it to good use."

I nodded and called out to Himeno. "Ready?" She nodded and we attacked at the same time, ending the seed's life.

"We did it!" Himeno cried out. I was happy that nobody got hurt. We settled down on the ground, and I felt Kei extract from me. It was a weird and cold feeling, like something that should have always been a part of me was taken away. I only shivered from the lack of warmth as I returned to my normal outfit.

* * *

**_Ke_****_i's POV_**

"I knew you guys could do it!" Shin commented. Hajime smiled and cheered. I smiled, too, but my thoughts weren't on the battle, or how it did.

It was on all of those scars on Cassandra's body.

Even though she hoped that I wouldn't notice, we were preated, and that meant that, technically, I am the pretear and the pretear is me. I shivered just thinking of those scars, all radiating hate and sadness. I looked over at Cassandra, seeing her help her friend up from the ground, grinning in relief and happiness.

How she could even hide those scars and still be happy was a mystery to me.

I looked over to see that Sasame was helping Hayate trying to stand. "He won't be able to use his powers for two to three days." I commented, seeing the condition that Hayate was in and the rest that he probably needed.

"These wouldn't be the people you talked about, would it?" What? Their friend went on to say, "_They have nice faces but it's a cult or a perverted group of maniacs._" Silence reigned for a few seconds before Cassandra burst out laughing. Their friend, Yayoi (I can distinctly remember that Himeno was the one who said her name), looked at Cassandra as if she had never heard her laugh before.

"WHO'S A CULT?" Hayate yelled, trying to get to Himeno and Cassandra. I sighed.

"Where do you see me in a cult and being a maniac?" I asked myself. Apparently Mannen heard me.

"Around computers." Perfectly blunt, too.

I felt a hand on my shoulder before I could hit the little brat. I looked back to see that the still chuckling Cassandra was shaking her head, probably trying to tell me to not worry about it. I shook my head and chuckled.

"In any case, Himeno, Cassandra," I said, catching everyone's attention. "We need you. Lend us your powers." Cassandra grinned and readily agreed. She then looked over and laughed insanely.

Himeno looked at her strange. Cassandra brought out a pen and pad and quickly scribbled something down before bringing out a digital camera and snapping a picture of something. Once I saw Himeno blushing, I looked over her shoulder and read,

**Look over to where Sasame and Hayate are. It's a yaoi moment XD**

I was shocked. I could actually see the humor in it, but...

I shook my head. Just something about Cassandra brought me in.

And it wasn't just the scars.

**_End of POV_**

* * *

I had to go to my actual house to do some chores and clean a bit. I couldn't really leave the house by itself, despite all of the security measures that my 'family' takes to ensure that nothing in the house get stolen. I put in the code at the gate and walked through the wire gates that my parents set up.

I whistled a high-pitched whistle and waited for the inevitable once I was on the grounds. I soon heard a small stampede, and I looked up to catch the first dog that went my way. "Hey Bowser!" I said, glad that the pit-bull was the first to reach me. He licked me in response, probably glad that I was finally back home. Soon, the other dogs came.

There were four; a husky named Shiro, a husky-wolf mix named Kain, a black Labrador named Knight, and a golden Retriever named Maman. Bowser was the youngest of the five. He was a tough pit-bull with black fur and bright brown eyes. He was named for the random streaks of white I found on his back whenever he was just a newborn pup. Shiro is one of the only females in the group. She had gray and white fur with sky-blue eyes. She was named since I found her in the snow whenever her mother died. Kain was a hyperactive dog and loves attention. He only responded to Kain, so that was his name. Knight was one of those 'strong, but silent' types as a dog. It was funny how I met him; he was actually stalking me whenever I went to school, so I just brought him home when he found out that some other guy was stalking me and he's stayed ever since. Maman was like the mother of the group, hence her French name. Mom brought her home from France, saying that the cute little pup wouldn't leave her alone.

I love them all; they're like a family to me.

Once I pet them and gave them all attention, I head inside to make myself something to eat and start on the house. Dalila, one of the three cats we have, was the first to greet me. She's an adorable orange, black, and white calico cat that refused to associate with Mom and Dad. It makes me feel special. Hearing a 'mrow' above me, I looked up to see Jewel, the black female manx cat. What I find funny about her is that she has no tail, and it's so hilarious to see her try and wiggle the stump that she naturally has. One time, she tried to bat at it and ended up falling into the fish tank. Thankfully, no one got eaten.

Finally, Tiger strolled out of the hallway into the living room where I was to plop down onto my feet and give me a calculating look. Tiger is a fully grown maine coon orange and white cat. He's the only male and thinks he owns the place. He's cuddly though, and if you give him some food, he'll love you forever.

I mean it, too.

"Hey, guys, hows the house been?" I asked. Yes, I'm talking to the cats, because there's no one else to talk to and the cats... They just seem to understand when I'm trying to tell them something, but I can't.

Besides, they favor me out of everyone else in the house. "Now, who's ready for some food?" I was happy that I was home, but I have the feeling that something bad was happening to Himeno right now. I shook it off and started my work, going from the bottom floor up, just so I could go back and crash at Himeno's place.

* * *

**_So, did you guys like it? Good, cause it took me forever to finish DX Anyways, shoutouts!_**

**_Hey, peoples; REVIEW FOR GOD'S SAKE! I would like to know what you guys think of what I have so far so I can put in some improvement and other crap...  
_**

**_Anyways *sniffle* Since you guys don't like me, leave me some reviews and make me feel better!  
_**


	5. Chapter 4

Yay, people reviewed XD Okay, hope you guys liked this chapter XD and thank you to everybody who Favorited and is following Blood Red Pretear!

Enjoy!

I don't own Pretear T^T

* * *

_**Blood Red Pretear**_

_**Chapter 4  
**_

The house was soon clean. I sighed and smiled, happy to have done a good job. But then my thoughts wondered to the Leafe Knights.

I've been more comfortable than I have been with anyone. It still confuses me that I'm able to easily talk to them; they're almost strangers, for goodness sakes! I sighed and packed away all of the cleaning tools, wincing when one of my knees hit the bucket that I was using for water. I looked down to see a semi-fresh bruise there.

Shaking my head, I finally grabbed my music folder and keys and left the house, saying goodbye to all of the cats and dogs. "Alright, I'll be back tomorrow to feed and water you guys!" I then shut the door and locked it. After closing the gate and locking that too, I merrily walked to Himeno's, and then stopped.

Isn't Natsue and Kaori taking everyone out to eat or something? Maybe I shouldn't go... I then brightened up at a thought.

Maybe I could find the Leafe Knights and train!

* * *

Himeno sat down, enjoying a cup of warm tea after training with Sasame and his element, sound. She looked a bit nervous before asking, "Umm... Exactly what is Leafe?" Everyone stopped and looked at her. "I can feel it," she started. "I know what kind of power it is, but..."

"Leafe is 'the power of life.'" Kei started. "It is what makes the foundation that structures the world, all of the matter in the natural world, and the life that inhabits it. Since Leifania exists in the real world and has two sides wherever it is, leife circulates between Leifania and there, like transmigration." That was the way that Kei put it, and it completely confused Himeno. "Got it?"

A sweat drop seemed to form on her head when Himeno replied, "At the moment, let's just say that 'leife is very important...'"

"It was a mistake to try to explain to tulip head." Hayate grumbled, sipping his tea. Unfortunately for him, Himeno heard him and seemed to give him her best death glare yet.

'_He really doesn't know how to treat girls...'_ Kei thought, feeling slightly sorry for Hayate. "Throughout her history, Saihi has appeared many times," Kei started with another lesson on leife. "Using 'seeds' to come and steal leife. On that journey, the leife knights and the pretears throughout the generations have come to fight, but-"

Himeno then interrupted with, "Pretears throughout the generations?" She seemed to be a bit more interested now. "What kind of girls have the pretears been like up until now?" Silence reigned the field when Himeno asked the dreaded question. Nobody answered and just stared at Himeno. The poor girl was confused beyond heck.

"Come to think of it," Sasame said, getting up out of his spot. "I have to go to work."

"Work?" Himeno copied, a little confused. They were dodging the question, and did so successfully.

Hajime smiled and said, "All the older guys have jobs! Goh is a waiter, Kei works at a company that makes webpages, and Hayate is a messenger boy."

Himeno snickered and said to herself, "Because he's wind?" And then Hayate heard her.

"It's because we need money to act in this world." Goh explained.

"Everyone works hard," Himeno started, picking up the little ball creature that fell asleep. "I was thinking about getting a part-time job..." She stopped, thinking about the old times when it was just her, Dad, and Casandra coming over occasionally.

"Why-?" Goh started, looking at her in amazement. "You're family has money, don't they? And you get a large allowance, don't you?"

"Um, well," Himeno started. "I have various reasons." Hayate looked over, not really believing the tulip head next to him. Sasame then came up behind her, changed into his works, and said, "If you're troubled, then listen to me, because I'm a professional."

"Pro-?" Himeno was now confused.

Shin clarified. "Sasame is a DJ on the video. He also does talk therapy." Himeno smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"You sure?" He asked.

Now that Himeno looked back on it, it seemed like she was really troubled, but not on jobs or anything. It was about the family. '_Troubled, huh?' _"Since that time, I haven't been getting along with them so well, and I haven't wanted to go home." Then a strange smell came to her. "What's this smell?" Himeno exclaimed, covering her nose from the horrid smell.

"Ah, that's fountain water." An old person behind her answered, not seeming to be bother by the smell.

Himeno turned to the old man, confused at his answer. "Fountain water?" She asked, silently asking for a better answer than what she was given.

"From back behind Hakutoku Academy. It used to be so clean that you could drink it, but about a week ago, it started to smell." He said. "It became horrible real quickly."

'_About a week ago here?' _Himeno thought, thinking of a seed.

* * *

Himeno arrived home safely and ready to have some dinner with her family. "Hey, Casandra's here in the guest bedroom." Kaori said, smiling and waving up at his daughter. She smiled and went up to her room to put away her things when she screamed.

"What happened?" Himeno looked all around her room. Everything was open and thrown to the ground. "This is horrible!"

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Mayune." Mayune stood behind her, looking all smug. "You and this room-! Looking through my letters... and pictures of my mom!" Himeno was angry and hurt that Mayune would do something like that. Sure, Mayune plays pranks on her all of the time, but she wasn't this cruel!

"I couldn't find my precious pearl necklace," Mayune started. "And I was thinking, 'It's not in someone's room, is it?'" Himeno decided to be polite.

"So... Did you find it?"

"No, but since it's you, you probably sold it to supplement your allowance." She flipped her hair, not noticing that Casandra was right behind her watching all of this go down. "After all, you are the daughter of a poor writer." That seemed to do it. Himeno smacked Mayune across the face, leaving a nice red mark on her left cheek.

"MAMA!" Mayune cried out, running straight into Natsue's arms. "Himeno hit me!"

"How violent!" Natsue held her daughter and glared over at Himeno.

"Himeno!" Even her father seemed to believe his stepdaughter. Casandra looked away and was surprised to Mawata coming up to them. She sent a smile her way and was rewarded with one herself. "I DIDN'T LET YOU LEARN BUDOU TO LET YOU USE IT FOR VIOLENCE!"

Himeno tried to plead with her father. "But Mayune was-"

"APOLOGIZE!"

"But-"

"She doesn't need to apologize." Mayune finally stepped in, probably sick of how her sister was acting. "Mayune went through Himeno's room on her own."

"But my pearl necklace-!"

"It's in the dresser in the living room, isn't it?" Mawata interrupted, looking extremely annoyed. "Could you please not act so disgracefully, Mayune?" She then turned and started to walk to her room, which was about a door or two down.

"Ah, Mawata?"

"What is it?"

Himeno smiled. "Thank you for saving me."

"Don't misunderstand." Mawata started, looking back at Casandra and Himeno with a cold look on her face. "Mayune was acting too much like a child, and since I noticed it, I said something."

'_Even though she acts so cold,'_ Casandra thought. '_Mawata can be a really good person, even with her heart of scars.' _

Casandra smiled and went back to her room, saying hi and good night to Himeno. She then turned on the radio, and was surprised to hear that a show called 'Sasame's Wise Gate' was on and was even more surprised when she heard Mawata's name on the radio. She listened and was touched that the song that followed was for Mawata, and Mawata alone.

'_You're doing a good thing, Sasame,' _Casandra thought, smiling from her bed in the corner of the room. '_And comforting that troubled girl is something that I think deserves a first price.'_

* * *

"Speaking of Mawata Awayuki!" The next day found both girls hanging with Yayoi at school during break, looking for a bit of relaxation. Though by the look on Yayoi's face, that wouldn't happen. Casandra began to tune Yayoi out as she began listing out all of this information that Casandra didn't think was possible to possess in a single person's head. And then they went on the subject of Sasame's talk show.

Casandra sighed, deciding to stare at the Sakura tree in the yard next to them.

"That's a sakura tree over there, isn't it?" Speaking of the sakura tree. Casandra turned and was a bit confused that Yayoi was pointing at the aforementioned tree that she was staring at earlier. "This school has a legend: it's said that if you confess your love under that tree, you will become a couple!" Casandra raised an eyebrow, thinking, '_How the heck did that legend come about?'_ A picture of Kei's smiling face came into Casandra's mind, which caused her to blush deeply.

"And speak of the devil!" Yayoi said, which alerted the two wandering girls that someone was confessing their love to Mawata. Casandra turned to the other side of the courtyard, not wanting to watch what was going to happen next. Casandra heard the trash can be open and something that sounded like paper be tossed inside, and started to walk away until she heard Sasame's voice talking to Mawata.

She turned back around and watched the exchange between the two. Her ears were tuned out, since she didn't want to know what was being said, but instead zoomed in on Mawata's facial expressions. I saw the shock slowly come to life as she realized that this is Sasame that she was talking to.

And then she felt it. The darkness of the seed, and what was worse, it was in the sakura tree. Casandra watched as the sky darkened and the flowers die on the sakura tree.

"SASAME!" Himeno called, running toward said man. Casandra followed, not wanting to miss the action. She turned and watched as Mawata seemed to fall faint under the seed's spell. She watched her eyes as they seemed to convey sadness as they watched Himeno and Sasame react; she then understood.

Mawata was in love with Sasame, regardless of barely knowing him.

"Sasame, everyone's-" Himeno then turned and watched her stepsister and best friend fall to the ground.

Casandra looked down at Mawata, knowing exactly what she must've been thinking.

'_They have what they want, and when they lose it...'_ Casandra thought of all of the things that Mawata must've been witness to, must've broken her heart, wasted away her mind, and kept her mouth shut about. '_In the end, these things would hunt me down until the end.'_

* * *

**_This is more like a filler chapter than anything, and it's pretty long, so be happy about it! Hope you guys enjoyed :) Yeah, it's probably a bit confusing, but hey *shrugs* better than nothing, right?_**

**_Anyways, shoutouts XD  
_**

**_minshe Yeah, it's only because of certain things (WHICH WILL BE EXPLAINED LATER ON) and her relation to the Knights (WHICH WILL ALSO BE REVEALED AT A LATER CHAPTER) Besides, it's fun to do this ^^ Besides, she's not shy, so being 'mute' is the best I could describe it.  
_**

**_Himeno Kazehito Your wish is my command *bows* Hoped you liked this chapter ^^  
_**

**_Thanks guys for reviewing! Please tell me what you think of this somewhat confusing chapter XD  
_**


End file.
